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The Binghamton Senators have paid a hefty price for their success this season.

After bidding farewell to a steady stream of players responsible for a great deal of that success -- the latest being Mika Zibanejad, who rediscovered his scoring touch in Bingo before he was whisked away to Ottawa -- the B-Sens will look to their foot soldiers to maintain their grip on first place in the East as the AHL's second half kicks off.

With five of the team's top seven scoring missing in action, either from graduation (Jakob Silfverberg, Andre Benoit, Patrick Wiercioch) or injury (Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman), it now falls to players like Gloucester's Corey Cowick to shoulder the offensive load.

A fearsome power forward in his junior days as a member of the 67's, Cowick split his first two pro seasons between Binghamton and Elmira. He already has surpassed his career AHL totals with six goals and 16 points through 40 games this season.

"This year's been a lot different than in years past, and when the situation changes, you have to look at that as an opportunity to step up," said Cowick, who has spent the season on a line with rookie and fellow local product Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Hugh Jessiman.

"We've been out against the other team's top lines and shutting them down, but we're also starting to create a lot of chances that are getting to the net," added Cowick, who has served as something of a mentor to Pageau, as the two share a house together in Binghamton.

"We've got quite the bachelor pad going," Cowick chuckled. "We took the dining room table out to set up a ping-pong table, and our families have gotten to know each other quite well through the year. We've developed quite the friendship together."

In the wake of the exodus of top talent to the NHL's greener pastures, it was Cowick who was the early beneficiary, with three goals -- including a shorthanded tally and a game-winner -- in Binghamton's first two games after the recalls.

"You poll anybody in that locker room, and they'd want to be in Ottawa over Binghamton. You don't work your butt off all summer and every season to just be an AHL player," said Cowick on the phone from St. John's, where the B-Sens kick off the season's second half with a back-to-back set against the IceCaps.

"But it's not something that's really talked about too much. Our focus is here in Binghamton and being a first-place team in the second-best league in the world."

Now, maintaining that position will be the next challenge.

"We got off to a good start and those (graduates) laid the groundwork for the identity we're going to have all season," he said. "We're going to be a fast, tough team that hits everything in sight."

Wikstrand not moving

According to a report in the top Swedish sports journal HockeySverige, defensive prospect Mikael Wikstrand "raised eyebrows" with this week's announcement that he would stay with Mora of the Tier-2 Allsvenskan league, rather than join the Swedish Elite League next season.

"Ottawa said it was up to me, but at the same time, they want to obviously see me in the top division," said Wikstrand in an interview with Ronnie Ronnkvist.

"I know what I get here in Mora, that is that I get to play incredibly much power play and short-handed while I can continue to develop my game in peace and quiet."

Wikstrand, one of the breakout players of Sweden's Tier-2 league, has 22 points in 36 games after posting three points in his rookie season last year.

"I feel that I actually developed a lot and that's because I got to play a lot. But at the same time, I (need to develop) even more before I stand up to the premier league to play," he said.

Wikstrand told the website that several top tier clubs were lining up for his services,

"But I felt that I will not get as much play there next season as I get here in Mora, the power play, short-handed, but also in five-on-five," Wikstrand said.

"I also think it's incredibly fun to play a lot, which also meant that it felt right to stay here for another year," said Wikstrand, adding the Senators supported his decision.

Ice chips

With both Mike Hoffman (collarbone) and Mark Stone (broken finger) out of the Binghamton lineup for an extended period of time, the B-Sens called up forwards Dustin Gazely and Darren Kramer, along with defenceman Kyle Bushee from the Elmira Jackals.

Kramer, who succeeded Jared Cowen as captain of the Spokane Chiefs, has been making his mark on the pro leagues the same way he did in junior: with his fists.

Kramer led the WHL with 46 fights in his first season with Spokane, when he topped the 300-penalty minute mark, and followed that up with 26 fights to go along with 22 goals and 40 points in his senior year as team captain.

He played one AHL game in October, recording no points, but dropped the mitts with Steve Olesky of the Hershey Bears, and has nine fights in 19 games with the Elmira Jackals.

THREE STARS

1. Mika Zibanejad

C, 19, Binghamton/Ottawa

His days as a "prospect" appear to be numbered as ZBad is making the most of a callup, named a star in each of his first two games in Ottawa, while scoring his first NHL goal Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens.

2. Robin Lehner

G, 21, Binghamton (AHL)

Named the AHL player of the week in his return to Binghamton, Lehner posted a 0.92 GAA and .975 SV%. He made 40 saves and stopped all five shootout attempts in a 1-0 blanking of the Syracuse Crunch, then stopped 38 shots the next night and was perfect again in the shootout over the Hershey Bears.

3. Darren Kramer

LW, 21, Elmira/Binghamton

Picked up a pair of assists against Reading, and in his next game, an 8-1 thrashing of the Trenton Titans, the Jackals bruiser racked up 29 PIMs as a fight in the game's final seconds spilled over off the ice.

The Binghamton Senators have paid a hefty price for their success this season.

After bidding farewell to a steady stream of players responsible for a great deal of that success -- the latest being Mika Zibanejad, who rediscovered his scoring touch in Bingo before he was whisked away to Ottawa -- the B-Sens will look to their foot soldiers to maintain their grip on first place in the East as the AHL's second half kicks off.

With five of the team's top seven scoring missing in action, either from graduation (Jakob Silfverberg, Andre Benoit, Patrick Wiercioch) or injury (Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman), it now falls to players like Gloucester's Corey Cowick to shoulder the offensive load.

A fearsome power forward in his junior days as a member of the 67's, Cowick split his first two pro seasons between Binghamton and Elmira. He already has surpassed his career AHL totals with six goals and 16 points through 40 games this season.

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